Learn Why We Designed Our Lemon Shark Print!

Baby sharks and baby humans share a few similarities… They both grow up in sheltered nurseries, are voracious little eaters, grow quickly and are squirmy as heck!

This summer, Lucky Bug Clothingpartnered with Sharks4Kids to launch and promote Lemon Shark printed onesies, dresses, and t-shirts for newborns through 4 years old.

My desire for designing and creating this print was simple: I wanted to widen the options for shark-themed clothing for young girls and boys!

You often see sharks portrayed the same way, with little to no variety in apparel – they tend to be Great Whites or vague grey sharks, and are portrayed mouths agape, teeth heavily featured, or even exaggeratedly scary. Don't get me wrong, Great Whites are AWESOME, but I wanted to do something a little different and create a print that was more biologically accurate, showing baby Lemon Sharks with the proper number of gills and distinctive equal dorsal fins, as well as in their habitat with mangroves and Mojarra nearby. My hope is that by diversifying the way we portray sharks it will also educate shoppers that there are over 400 species of sharks that need protecting – it’s not all Great Whites out there in the ocean!

Moreover, it is still difficult to find science-themed options designed for young girls, sharks or otherwise. Major retailers tend to market shark items only in the boy’s section of stores and seem to blatantly target the boys apparel market by almost exclusively featuring images of boys wearing shark and science-themed fashions. We know that representation matters, and wanted to inspire little girls who don't always see representations of themselves in this field - girls as lab scientists, girls as field researchers, girls on shark week, or just girls interacting with sharks in general.

So I hope that by doing a shark print in a purple, and offering the print in a fun, swingy dress style, girls will be able to see it and know it is just as much for them as it is for boys, and both can happily wear it.

I have loved and studied sharks for years, so this chance to create a purple Lemon Shark collection forLucky Bug Clothing, partner with Sharks4Kids, AND offer a shark print for children that more accurately represents sharks and provides some variety for shark lovers and their little ones has been a dream come true!

We support the goals of Sharks4Kids wholeheartedly and want to help foster curiosity about sharks and the ocean and create the next generation of shark advocates! 15% of our sales from this Lemon Shark print go directly to Sharks4Kids, and we are so happy to be donating $325 from our first round of production! We have restocked and are selling them on our website. Visit our site for the softest onesies, dresses and t-shirts you've ever felt for your little one or a shark lover in your life!*USE CODE SHARK for 15% off your order*